My first review of 2004 starts off with a good album. Symphorce’s new release Twice Second is a good addition to the melodic scene at the moment. While not on par with The Glorious Burden or Enemies of Reality, this album deserves a listen from any connoisseur of melodic metal.

Musically, this album is a big step up from their last album, Phorceful Ahead, which is a welcome change. Their last album dragged and was burdened with trying to do too much all at once. This album has put more effort and emphasis on main leads with good melodic rhythm guitar. The vocals have seen an improvement as well. While they sound better than before, vocalist Andy Franck seems to be mimicking Warrell Dane rather than finding his own voice. His delivery is superb but there is an overtly obvious nod to Nevermore. This production resembles a prog band in its relentless pursuit of fidelity more than the dirty sound of raw garage metal. While it was a sticking point with many upon release, that sound grew on you. This album presents the counterpoint. The production is spotless and the raw element is not noticeable. Sounds are lush and vibrant and the mix does not neglect any element.

The music ranges from mid tempo rockers to slower ballads to up-tempo true metal. The opener “Fallen” evokes some shades of Evergrey with the keyboard and guitar parts during the verses. However the choruses are pure Maiden. The lessons of metal were not lost here. The high energy of “Two Seconds to Live” evokes a frantic pace of chaos in the musical journey. It is truly one of the standouts on this disc. The ballad type songs like “Cry On My Shoulder” and “Take What’s Mine” seem to be tired however. They resemble each other musically and seem to be tired musically. These are the types of ballads that are being done to death in the current scene and I wish bands would stop recording these tracks. With the exception of the epic ballad (which can be redone infinitely and sound the same), slow songs seem to be hitting a brick wall in the melodic scene. These songs are over shadowed by the other songs.

“Tears” takes an intro befitting of a Soundgarden song and turns it into an uplifting metal anthem which can speak for this album quite well. The lavish layering of tracks builds a massive sound behind the band. This song has the strongest vocal performance of the album as well. The guitar crunch is engineered to perfection. “Face of Pain” is the fastest track and even slips into a thrash motif for a short while. The main riff here definitely reminds me of Iced Earth while the chorus is evocative of recent In Flames. This band knows how to pick influences. A must listen for Nevermore and Iced Earth fans, this album is a good way to welcome in the new year.